Sometimes the linnet piped his song:Sometimes the throstle whistled strong:Sometimes the sparhawk, wheel'd along,Hush'd all the groves from fear of wrong:By grassy capes with fuller soundIn curves the yellowing river ran,And drooping chestnut-buds beganTo spread into the perfect fan,Above the teeming ground.

Then, in the boyhood of the year,Sir Launcelot and Queen GuinevereRode thro' the coverts of the deer,With blissful treble ringing clear.She seem'd a part of joyous Spring:A gown of grass-green silk she wore,Buckled with golden clasps before;A light-green tuft of plumes she boreClosed in a golden ring.

Now on some twisted ivy-net,Now by some tinkling rivulet,In mosses mixt with violetHer cream-white mule his pastern set:And fleeter now she skimm'd the plainsThan she whose elfin prancer springsBy night to eery warblings,When all the glimmering moorland ringsWith jingling bridle-reins.

As she fled fast thro' sun and shade,The happy winds upon her play'd,Blowing the ringlet from the braid:She look'd so lovely, as she sway'dThe rein with dainty finger-tips,A man had given all other bliss,And all his worldly worth for this,To waste his whole heart in one kissUpon her perfect lips.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Snakes have big mojo. Serpent symbolism can be traced back to ancient cultures with both powerfully positive and negative aspects.

Everyone has heard the tale about the snake that tricked Eve. We all know about dangerous dragons, petrifying basilisks, and vengeful sea serpents.

What about the protector; a snake king shielded Buddha during his meditations. The Gadsden flag of the American Revolution is a rattler warning “Don’t Tread On Me.” The wisdom of Pythia, the Oracle at Delphi. The knowledge of Sophia.

Minoan priestesses clutched snakes, so did Moses. There’s Kundalini and the caduceus. The crown of Egypt. Medusa’s crown of hissing locks. So many world mythologies have serpents coiled about the World Tree, the Tree of Life.

Snakes have venom that can poison, heal, or take you on a magical mystery trip. They tell us about renewal as they shed their skin, about eternity when they eat their tail.

Fire, water, air and earth; rainbows, feathers; Chthonic birth-death-rebirth, earth and the underworld. It’s all there. I told you snakes have big mojo.

Now, for the sparkly snakey shinies. Victorians were so cool in their love for weird and creepy jewelry.

Friday, July 10, 2009

I was tagged a little bit this week by some FAE friends of mine, but I sometimes have trouble following rules, or doing things I’m told (and yes, I have passed that down to at least one of my children), so I’m going to participate in my own way. And like I said, today is my birthday and I can blog like I want to.

I love chainmaille. It is so intricate and webby, and harkens back to times I often read about. Athena’s Armourymakes some wicked chainmaille on Etsy and Janine does some fantastic bloggingabout especially strong women.

Glass fascinates me. Ancient Roman, hand-blown artisinal, or stained glass like you’ll find at Radiance Arton Etsy. Amy also has some really rad watercolor prints- and mermaids! She has a greatblogtoo!

Here’s the part where I will do as I am told, and share ten honest things about myself:

1. I have an extreme lack of patience and high irritability with regards to b.s. Yes, I can be a bit forthright.

2. I heart tattoos. I wish I had my legs covered one arm, and my entire back. [grin] So far it’s just one piece on my shoulder and the lower side of one leg.

4. I am a clutter junkie. A collector. A treasure hunter. A prizer of cool things found. I like to display them and admire them all around me.

5. Onions are most-hated beasties. I cannot abide them raw in anything at all, and I will leave a clean plate but for a pile of cooked, translucent striated stinky chips. Blah, blech, nastiness like an armpit made into “food”.

6. If I could have another shot at education (and some memory enhancers please), I’d want to become an Archaeologist. Enough of this armchair stuff, give me a shovel and some brushes. Paleolithic Europe, if you please. Or some dark age castles. Or some Greco-Roman ruins.

7. I find myself getting very distracted at concerts by the stream of creativity that I start to channel during live music. Do I pay attention to what song is playing, or do I follow that necklace fluttering by to the left….hmmmm, what was that you said?

8. I have had three children through natural childbirth, all boys, none of them weighing under 10 pounds. Yes, I do wet my pants now and again.

9. I do not *do* Perfect. I don’t understand it; it freaks me out and gives me anxiety. I like things raw and wonky in my work. It’s the way I see the world; beautiful and asymmetrical, non-matching, chips and frays, gaps and tears.

10. I believe in magic. It rubs right up against you if you pay attention. You’ll step right in it if you’re not looking. You might get lost. Or worse, you might never find it.

AND, if that was not enough, I am having a birthday celebration sale in my Artfire shop! Come on in for 20% off every item through July 12th.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Maybe 7 or 8 years ago I made a discovery that delights me to this day. While researching ancient jewelry styles I came across a website that blew me away- I just could not believe the sort of things they were selling. Really?You can actually buy authentic ancient jewelry and artefacts? And some of them are actually affordable? And *wearable*??? Wowowowowow. Since that day I’ve found some other sites that seem reputable and interesting as well, but I keep coming back to the original one. Now, I have never actually bought anything of this sort, but I know one day I will. I am waiting for my Wunderkammer in a liminal room with squishy couches, spiderwebby windows and an awesome sound system.

Today I found these beautiful jewelry artefacts from ancient Byzantium. The ring is silver set with a green glass piece, made in VII c A.D. The earring is gold, from the second half of VII-IX c. A.D., and it looks just like a pomegranate to me.

Byzantium was founded by Greeks in 667 BC and was dedicated to Artemis, bearing the crescent moon as its symbol for nearly a thousand years until conquered by Rome in 196 AD. Being a crossroads harbor between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, its strategic location drew the eye of Emperor Constantine, who rebuilt the city and renamed it Nova Roma. Upon his death it became Constantinople and remained a Greek-speaking Roman state. The Middle Ages brought about the final change of rule with the Ottoman Empire’s crusader conquest and the eventual name of Istanbul in modern times. Historians use the term Byzantine for cultural and land references. Over the centuries the Byzantine Empire survived the collapse of the Western Roman Empire underwent ebbs and flows of power and status, but became known as a wealthy independent center of Christianity, culture, education and artistry. Even in the downturns, citizens continued to adorn themselves; they just used less expensive materials.

Over the ages, the jewelry of Byzantium became crowded with influences (Greco-Roman, Italian, French, German, Middle Eastern)due to the prominent trade industry and the wealth of the city, though the most recognizable and abundant pieces are heavily jeweled crosses. Women of all classes wore earrings, and rings were widely worn as well (following Roman tradition). Other items include crowns for the nobility, necklaces, brooches, fibula and belts. When the Ottomans gained control of the city, the amount of jewels and opulence increased according to the sultan’s preferences and show of power. Tribal motifs were introduced, and the Ottoman women preferred to wear headdresses and ornamentation, and more bracelets were worn as well.

I mentioned Byzantium’s location at the mouth of the Black Sea. There is something special about the deep, cold waters, in that they are deprived of oxygen so that wood-boring mollusks cannot live, and therefore cannot destroy shipwrecks and their cargo (including human remains) as in other maritime areas trafficked in the ancient world. Wooden shipwrecks of antiquity are remarkably well preserved for thousands of years and are a unique source of study for marine archaeologists.

Fascinated by these discoveries and the treasures and secrets they have to reveal, I dreamed up some earrings that I imagine might be uncovered in one of these ancient shipwrecks one day…Byzantium’s Harbor Earrings in sterling, and Byzantium and the Black sea in brass.

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About Me

I'm a mom to 3 amazing boys, and wife to a music aficionado. My artsy crafty business, Mermaiden Creations, has grown and evolved over the years out of an obsessive compulsive need to create and articulate the constant stream of ideas flowing into my head. For me, creating is an exercise in magic. I find the polarity of weird beauty fascinating, as well as the combination of things dark and light. I love to listen to weird folk music and read fantasy novels and archaeology text books. You'll find me at weekend kids sports events or well past midnight donning my favorite witch hat.